


The Color Blue

by mktprds



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Break Up, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Iwaizumi Hajime-centric, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oh my god they are idiots in love, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27174988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mktprds/pseuds/mktprds
Summary: Hajime sees the color blue and thinks of only one person: Tooru.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	The Color Blue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a (belated) birthday gift to one of my favorite people ever! Happy birthday Lemon, I hope you like it!
> 
> On that note, this is my first time writing IwaOi EVER, so pleasepleaseplease everyone feel free to give me feedback or suggestions in the comments (specifically on my characterization of them,,, they are so complex).

Hajime sees the color blue and thinks of only one person: Tooru.

When he went to Kitagawa Daiichi with Tooru, he noticed that the color blue looked very pretty on him. But, he would have never admitted to that, so he left it as a lingering thought in the back of his mind. Sometimes he'd forget about it. Other times, Tooru would remind him without meaning to.

It wasn't until some time in their later teenage years that this thought overwhelmed him. 

There were many times they waited to walk home together; there were also many stolen glances, hands grazing each other, and jokes made just to hear the other laugh. They put up a front of tough love most of the time; one boy teasing the other, sometimes purposely trying to get a rise out of each other. That's one of the many reasons why Hajime waited a very long time. Somewhere between fall and winter of their third year in high school, there was a confession. Looking back on it, Hajime can't remember who confessed first or even how it really happened. But, he knew that the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders because he could tell Tooru what he thought about him and the color blue.

He told Tooru how blue complimented him, how he looked so nice with the horizon behind him, how he could be stranded in the damn ocean and still look beautiful because he'd be surrounded by blue.

"It's _your_ color." He said.

Tooru was in awe because Hajime? Complimenting him outside of a volleyball game? It felt like a rare occasion.

Of course the slightly taller setter was obnoxious right off the bat.

"Oh Iwa-chan, how _romantic_."

But Hajime was serious and he felt like he just couldn't emphasize it enough. He wasn't going to back down.

"I love you."

Tooru finally put his insufferable, teasing smirk aside, and he smiled fondly.

"I love you, too."

And as dates became more frequent, and they shared a bed more often, and they grew together, blue became a common staple in their relationship. For example, on their first Valentine's Day as a couple, Hajime bought Tooru an assorted bouquet of blue flowers (along with milk bread and candies of course). When they graduated? More blue flowers.

Moving into an apartment together was a little complicated. It was a huge step for them, and it made them think a little more seriously about their futures. Tooru knew his ultimate goal was to keep playing volleyball; he wanted to go pro. And Hajime knew that he wanted to go to college. But, they had time, they told themselves. The first summer in their shared apartment consisted of a lot of furniture buying and decorating and figuring out how to split up chores.

By the time they considered themselves settled, Tooru could notice all the little bits of blue that were interwoven into their little home. It made him smile.

College started for Hajime that fall. Following that, Tooru started seeing a trainer that would help him get involved on the _real_ volleyball scene. They were busy, but it didn’t stop them from date nights, or sharing their bed, or continuing to grow together. Yes, it was tiring to balance school and home and work and their bills, but they did their darndest to manage.

But, sometimes doing your best doesn’t equate success.

Tooru eventually got an offer from Blanco himself to go to Argentina and learn from him. Hajime was just as ecstatic as Tooru; their _literal_ childhood idol wanted to train with Tooru. But, that made them question how this would work out for them.

The night before Tooru’s departure, they let themselves lay in bed together all night. They didn’t sleep. They just held each other and talked.

“Hajime,” Tooru started. “Are we gonna be okay..? Argentina is so far away, we're both gonna be busy...”

There was a somber expression on Hajime’s face, but he knew he didn’t want to give up. He wasn’t going to.

“It’s gonna be hard, but you better believe I’m not giving up on us.” 

And then, suddenly, Tooru was in Argentina.

He did his best to text and call despite the twelve hour time difference, and the practices, and Hajime’s school, and work, and everything else that became an obstacle. It was hard.

Hajime messed up his sleep schedule many times just so he could stay up talking to Tooru when he woke up. It made him late to classes sometimes because he would sleep in late, but he thought it was worth it. Because Tooru couldn’t afford to lose sleep, he had to be healthy. He’s gonna be a professional athlete, he needs to take care of himself better than I do, Hajime thought.

They continued like that for a few months.

Hajime couldn’t help but notice that his boyfriend’s messed up sleep cycles were starting to make him miss entire classes altogether, and his internal clock was all jumbled because Hajime would have breakfast at the same time as Tooru. And, _oh Hajime_ , Tooru thought, this wasn’t good for him. He couldn’t help but imagine how much worse it would get when Tooru started playing real games and travelling.

Tooru could only find one solution to this problem as time marched on. He really didn’t like it, but Hajime was getting worse. To Tooru, it felt like he was watching the person he loved the most lose their sense of self. It was like Hajime was surrounding himself with Tooru in a manner that was unhealthy just to cope with their busy schedules and abundance of physical distance from each other.

“Hajime,” Tooru greeted, he held his phone out so his boyfriend could see his face on the video call. His voice was still gravelly, having only woken up a few minutes prior, and he could hear Hajime softly chuckle because he liked the way Tooru sounded when he woke up.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

They talked a little, but Tooru remembered what he had resolved to do when he saw that Hajime yawned. 

“Hajime,” Tooru muttered his boyfriend’s name to catch his attention. This time, he didn’t smile. There was a pause.

“I think we need to break up.”

Hajime felt his heart drop; he struggled to respond.

“Why? Did I do something? Tooru—”

“You’re struggling... You _know_ you’re struggling.” Tooru sighed softly, he sounded distraught, but he was trying not to show it.

“I’m only getting busier and you’re trying hard to keep up with college, and your job, and paying bills. You have too many things in your hands and I don’t want to be the one thing that tips over the scale. I can't let you continue to ruin your sleep, schooling, and health over _me_. I want you to be happy.” Tooru was teary-eyed and so was Hajime. This was difficult. “It’s unfair to both you and I if you’re sacrificing this much for our relationship.”

They were both quiet for a while. Hajime tried to come up with so many arguments against him, but they all led to the same conclusion in his mind. Tooru was right. He was dealing with too many things all at once, and he knew that when Tooru would start playing actual matches, it would be even harder.

When Hajime softly exhaled, Tooru knew he had accepted it.

“I’ll still love you.”

“And I’ll love you, too. Please sleep.”

They continued to keep in touch after the fact; their feelings for each other wouldn't vanish that easily. It made Hajime feel like there was really no reason to break up. However, just as they both thought, Tooru was swamped by his new schedule when he began to play real games with Club Atlético San Juan, his team. On top of it all, if he wasn’t playing or practicing or training, he was doing his best to learn Spanish or get familiar with his newfound home in Argentina.

They slowly drifted apart. 

It hurt.

Every time Iwaizumi saw blue flowers, or the sky was extra clear, or he visited the beach, he was reminded of Tooru. The color blue would never be the same. It belonged to Tooru; it belonged to their love.

It took a while to get over the initial heartbreak, but Hajime never really let go of their love itself. Time would pass and he would try to leave it behind, but it was impossible to do that because Tooru was his childhood friend, his favorite person, his lover, and the color blue.

Despite it all, Hajime finished getting his degree, he kept up with his bills, and he had worked hard. He managed to become an athletic trainer, even interning with Takashi Utsui (another famous Japanese athletic trainer) following his graduation from university.

And even though he felt like he and Tooru were so detached from each other, it didn't stop them from occasionally texting (maybe once or twice a month). It was always small talk, but sometimes they'd pick on each other, just like old times. It didn’t really sever their relationship any further, in fact, it made Hajime yearn for Tooru even more. But, he thought, it was too late to recover what they had. Hell, Tooru was thriving without him as he was, Hajime thought, maybe, it really was better like this for the both of them. (That didn't make him miss their relationship any less, though.)

But, Hajime really had no idea what it was like for Tooru after their break up.

If Blue was Tooru’s color, Hajime’s should have been red. Because red reminded Tooru of Valentine's Day, and the comfort of their shared bed, and the passion Hajime had for everything he did. He remembered having this red-hot warmth bloom in his chest every time Hajime let his guard down, and every time they kissed, or every time Hajime smiled.

Still, it also hurt Tooru to see the color blue, too. Because it reminded him of Hajime's love for him, and it felt like a sore reminder of what they no longer had. However, Tooru surrounded himself with it. It was hard not to let blue become his favorite color when it was a symbol of all the adoration Hajime had for him. 

He thought of Hajime when he saw blue flowers, the sky, the ocean; hell, blue was everywhere in Argentina, it was even on their national flag.

So, really, even though they grew apart, both of their hearts kept beating for each other over the years.

Tokyo 2020.

The buzz of the Olympics surrounded the air. Hajime was thrilled to see his team compete. Of course he wasn't playing, though. He landed a role as the Japanese men's volleyball athletic trainer. The task seemed daunting at first, but it turned out that there were quite a few familiar faces on his team from back when he spent his days playing volleyball in school.

The first few days of the Olympics went by smoothly and then, suddenly, Hajime realized that Japan would be playing Argentina next. 

Looking back, he was not surprised at all to find out that Tooru had made the national Olympic team for his new home country. Hajime expected nothing less, and honestly? He was proud. He made sure to text Tooru a congratulations. Calling seemed unnecessary. (He knew he was just avoiding it on purpose so he wouldn’t have to hear the voice that he yearned for so much, but he didn't want to admit to his cowardice. _Feelings are scary._ )

Hajime nervously stood on the sidelines with the team's coach. None of the players were out yet, but they would be momentarily. The announcers, well, they announced the arrival of the Japanese team first; they named each player and every one of them came out once they were called. Hajime felt like he was having genuine heart palpitations when the announcers began to introduce Argentina's team.

Time dragged on so slowly. He knew what he was anticipating, but he didn't know why it was so nerve-wracking. _Oh, right._ It was because he hadn't seen Tooru in person since he had moved to Argentina.

And then…

"Number thirteen, Oikawa Tooru."

The commentators briefly discussed how Tooru was originally born in Japan, but he had given up his citizenship to pursue his career in Argentina. Hajime didn't really catch all of that, though. He was too busy watching Tooru walk out onto the court, sporting his country's blue jersey.

He thought he was grateful that Tooru hadn't seen him yet, but when the brunette laid eyes on him, he lost his breath. He felt the same butterflies in his stomach that he felt the last time they'd seen each other. Tooru kept looking at him, he noticed. His eyes were bright, and he smiled fondly at Hajime.

At that moment, Hajime knew that his future was looking at him.

And, for the first time in a long time, Hajime and Tooru both knew everything was going to be okay.

 _They_ were going to be okay. They were both there. They could see each other. They knew they still loved each other. They had time.

And Tooru still looked so pretty in blue.

And Hajime looked dashing in red.


End file.
